Intrauterine devices and ectopic pregnancy

摘要

The relation between intrauterine devices and ettopic pregnancy continues to cause confusion, just as it did when my colleagues and I reported the relevant findings in our cohort study in 1974.Amy and Tripathi state that" a meta-analysis of case-control studies showed that ectopic pregnancy is not more common in women who conceive with an intrauterine device in place." The meaning of this statement is not clear to me, but the clinically important fact is that if a woman with an intrauterine device in situ presents with an accidental pregnancy she is far more likely than a woman who has become pregnant under other circumstances to have an ectopic pregnancy. Indeed, the review cited by Amy and Tripathi gives the increase in risk as 10.6-fold.